150 Forestry Quarterly 



has issued a special leaflet on the manufacture of charcoal, which 

 details the common practice in meilers. The cost of producing 

 charcoal ready for shipping is set at between $9 and $10 per ton, 

 and the price paid on large assignments in normal times $10 and 

 $10.50— not leaving much, if any profit — but at present the price 

 paid per ton on rail is up to $20. 



These rumblings remind us of the special effort that was begun 

 by the government of Great Britain some six years ago, in 1909, 

 when, as a resuk of a report by the "Royal Commission on Coast 

 Erosion and Afforestation," a Development Fund was established 

 and a Development Commission instituted to recommend projects 

 for which the Fund might be applied. 



The Coast Erosion Commission's report developed a most 

 ambitious scheme of afforestation, by which eventually either 

 6,000,000 or 9,000,000 acres of waste lands (the latter figure 

 including poor farm lands) were to be planted up. At the same 

 time, it was believed and argued that the problem of the unem- 

 ployed, which was then a burning one, might be solved at the 

 same time. The statement advanced by the advocates of this 

 planting scheme was accepted by the Commission, that of the 

 $160,000,000 of wood imports all but $20,000,000 could be pro- 

 duced by home sources, and according to Dr. Schlich, one of the 

 foremost advocates of forestry in England, the 6 million acres 

 could produce it. A good road system was advocated in connec- 

 tion with these proposals. 



An annual outlay of $10,000,000 for the next 40 years, which 

 with interest in 80 years, when the fellings may begin, will have 

 grown to two billion dollars, was advocated. 



The problem of unemployed labor was elaborately discussed by 

 the Commission. "On the average, every 100 acres afforested pro- 

 vide employment for twelve men for six months," the planting 

 season extending from October to March. Since unemployment 

 is at its maximum in winter, the suitability of aft'orestation for 

 solving the problem was strongly argued. If, annually, 150,000 

 acres were planted, as proposed, about 18,000 laborers would 

 find employment during this period for the next 60 years. The 

 average cost of planting per acre was estimated at around $30, 

 of which $20 was for labor. Profit calculations are also elabo- 



